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'Czesław Dźwigaj' (born June 18 1950 in Nowy Wiśnicz) - artist, sculptor, professor, student of Antoni Hajdecki. Completed his studies at the Academy of Fine Arts in Krakow in the years 1972-77, where he now directs the studio of Ceramic Sculpture and also lecturing on Sacred art at the Pontifical Academy of Theology in Cracow
Author of numerous monuments, he is most often associated with monuments of Pope John Paul II, almost 50 of which have left his workshop.
He began his artistic career working with the Roman Catholic Church. In the 1980's he completed a series of bronze casts for the cathedral in Tarnów, Poland, thanks to which he achieved a reputation, becoming known and popular as an artist of sacred art in other areas of Poland.
He is also the author of the Monument to the Victims of December 1970 in Szczecin. Unveiled on 28 August 2005 on plac Solidarności on the 25th anniversary of the founding of Solidarity, this 11-metre-tall and nearly 9-and-a-half-ton bronze monument commemorates the tragic events of December 1970, when, following workers’ demonstrations on the streets of Szczecin, 16 people were killed. The monument is of an angel standing on a ship which is breaking through the concrete slabs of the ground to rise above the earth. Commemorative plaques bear the names of the victims.
He is also the author of a number of works in the Midwestern United States : a landmark sculpture of Christ the King in front of St. Mary of Częstochowa in Cicero, a Neogothic church built in the so-called 'Polish Cathedral' style along with the monumental bronze doors at St. Hyacinth's Basilica in Chicago, as well as monuments of Pope John Paul II in both Wyandotte, Michigan and Chicago.
He has also designed numerous church interiors along with monumental bas-relief doors. Professor Dźwigaj is also the laureate of many prestigious awards from exhibitions and art competitions such as the Gold medal at the Biennale in Ravenna.
Professor Dźwigaj is also one of the creators of the Tolerance Monument set to unveiled in Jerusalem in June of 2008 in collaboration in the initial stages with sculptor Michal Kubiak^[1] [1] It will be situated on a hill marking the divide between Jewish Armon Hanatziv and Arab Jebl Mukaber, standing opposite the United Nations headquarters in Jerusalem.
==A partial list of sites where monuments of Pope John Paul II by Professor Dźwigaj can be found outside of Poland==


★ Chicago, Illinois

★ Wyandotte, Michigan

★ Rome, Italy

★ Hanover, Germany

★ Posadas, Argentina

Contents

References

See also

External links

References

1. . the Jerusalem Post ''Grapevine: More than just an olive branch'' retrieved on April 11th 2007


★ (kar), Papież na placu Sapera, „Gazeta Współczesna” 2000, nr 61. +

★ Annusiewicz Małgorzata, Trzy pytania do prof. Czesława Dźwigaja, „Głos Szczeciński” 2005, nr 12.

★ Bogacz Jerzy, Rozmowa o pomniku z jego twórcą prof. Czesławem Dźwigajem, „Echo Limanowskie” 1998, nr 54.

★ Czesław Dźwigaj, red. Krzysztof Kozłowski, Kraków 2004.

★ Dańko Ireneusz, Pamięć, która dzieli, „Gazeta Wyborcza Kraków” 2005, nr 59.

★ Jankowski Stanisław M., W soli jeszcze nie pracowałem... - rozm. z Czesławem Dźwigajem, „AWS” 1999, nr 26.

★ Ochwat Renata, O pomnikach profesora Czesława Dźwigaja, „Gazeta Zachodnia” 2002, nr 146.

★ Ożóg Kazimierz S., Rzeźba jest trudna. O najciekawszych pomnikach Jana Pawła II, „Ethos” 2004, nr 3, s. 299-314, fot.

★ Ożóg Kazimierz S., Pomniki Jana Pawła II – kilka problemów zjawiska, [w:] Prolegomena. Materiały Spotkania Doktorantów Historyków Sztuki, Kraków 13-15 X 2003, Kraków 2005, s. 183-192, fot.

★ Ożóg Kazimierz S., Opowieści rzeźby, „Nawias” 2006, s. 98-107.

★ Ożóg Kazimierz S., Jan Paweł II jak krasnal. Pomniki na rozdrożu, „Orońsko” 2005, nr 4, s. 52-55, fot.

★ Satała Marian, Papieski rzeźbiarz, „Gazeta Krakowska” 2005, nr 83.

★ Starzak Grażyna, Papież wśród królów - rozm. z Czesławem Dźwigajem, „Dziennik Polski” 2000, nr 63.

★ Trybowski Ignacy, Czesław Dźwigaj, „Krak” 1985, nr 25.

★ Wątróbski Leszek, Pomnik Papieża Jana Pawła II w Policach, rozm. z Czesławem Dźwigajem, „Kurier Szczeciński” 1999, nr 100.

★ Wątróbski Leszek, Siedem rzeźb i pomników, „Nasz Dziennik” 1999, nr 83.

★ Wątróbski Leszek, Ten, który rzeźbi papieża, rozm. z. Czesławem Dźwigajem, „Nowy Dziennik” 1999, nr z dnia 1 VI.

See also

★ Polish Cathedral style

★ Roman Catholicism in Poland

★ Tolerance Monument

External links

★ St. Mary of Czestochowa in Cicero website

★ St. Hyacinth Basilica